Combination toxicology of metal enriched soils: physiological responses of a Zn- and Cd-resistant ecotype of Silene vulgaris on polymetallic soils.

Plants of an ecotype of Silene vulgaris (Caryophyllaceae) originating from a Cd-Pb-Zn mine at Plombiere (Belgium) were grown on 15 polymetallic soils for a full life-cycle to investigate physiological responses which can help explain previously reported disorders in plants. The degree of regulation of the metal concentration in the young seedlings was a very reliable indicator of the subsequent plant performance. Uptake of Zn could be regulated up to 200 nmol water-soluble Zn